Continuous miner with conveying means



Nov. 1, 1955 E. R. BERGMANN CONTINUOUS MINER WITH CONVEYING MEANS n m l 7 8 4 a I 2 M 2 H m m 9 h M A i u u I R M e 4 m 5 I 6 m H w 2 I E w W (allllnlru'lulllIll-Frill..-.5|||||'/, v 3 2 1 u h 2 6 1 2 7 2 a 1A r f P I m m m w n l a i F Nov. 1, 1955 E. R. BERGMANN CONTINUOUS MINER WITH CONVEYING MEANS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 11, 1954 INVENTOR BY Ernst R. Bergmann ATTORNEY Nov. 1, 1955 E. R. BERGMANN 2,722,409

CONTINUOUS MINER WITH CONVEYING MEANS IN V EN TOR.

A 7' TORNE V Nov. 1, 1955 E. R. BERGMANN 2,722,409

CONTINUOUS MINER WITH CONVEYING MEANS Filed March 11, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 K .3 R Nb 2 06 R R III 9w I QR MN W l QR 8 ll G R mm mm m@ \m l I n3 n2 m I" Q n m/ m9 3 ll 93 km 05 m5 I I III wwfiw f. 9? N .l Q 8 Q mm v9 NQ 33 I I s INVENTOR. BY Ernst R. Bergmann ATTORNEY Unitrd t tes Patent 2,722,409 CONTINUOUS MINER WITH CONVEYING MEANS Ernst R. Bergmann, Evergreen Park, Ill., assignor to Goodman Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application March 11, 1954, Serial 415,671 7 Claims. (Cl. 262-9) This invention relates generally to improvements in the mining of coal or the like from a solid seam thereof, and more particularly to a combination of apparatus for mining in a more efiicient manner.

The modern continuous miner is able to remove coal from a solid seam at such a rate as to require a large amount of expensive machinery and manpower to serve the miner merely to keep up with its rate of advance. Consequently, all of the advantages gained by the use of such miners is lost. Heretofore, for example, it has been proposed to move a shuttle conveyor behind the continuous miner, and to have the shuttle conveyor discharge onto a cross entry conveyor.

According to the present invention there is provided with the continuous miner an articulated cascading conveyor which is arranged to receive the cuttings from the continuous miner and to discharge same upon a gathering conveyor which may be disposed in an already mined out room, and which may be arranged to discharge upon a cross entry conveyor or a main entry conveyor. The provision of such articulated cascading conveyor makes unnecessary the use of cross entry conveyors which must be dismantled and moved to the next cross entry upon the completion of a room.

Such a cascading conveyor is arranged to be moved along a flexible cable having at least a pair of intersecting tangent lengths, one of the tangents thereof being connected at one end to the of the tangents thereof being connected to a winch or the like disposed alongside the gathering conveyor. Said last named tangent is also connected to a power unit for the cascade conveyor arranged to be moved by the cable as the miner advances, and arranged to be retracted as the miner is moved from a completed room.

One or more of the sections of the cascade conveyor is also secured to the tangents, so as the miner advances, the several articulated sections can describe a smooth curve past the intersecting tangents of the flexible cable.

With the foregoing considerations in mind it is a'principal object of this invention to provide an improved combination of apparatus for mining coal in a more eificient manner than has been possible heretofore.

Other objects and important features of the invention will be apparent from a study of the following specification taken with the drawings which together illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, and what is now considered to be the best mode of practicing the principles thereof. Other embodiments of the invention will be suggested to those having the benefit of the teachings herein, and it is therefore intended that the scope of the invention not be limited by the preciseembodiment herein shown, such other embodiments being intended to be reserved especially as they fall within the scope and purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a mine, showing continuous miner, and another gathering or mother belt conveyor 11.

apparatus according to the present invention operating therein;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the outby end of a cascading conveyor showing the cascading conveyor in position discharging upon a gathering conveyor, and showing the driving means for the cascading conveyor disposed in position along side the gathering conveyor;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the discharge or outby end of the cascading conveyor shown in Fig. 2, said view being taken from the left and looking toward the right as seen in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of one of the intermediate sections of the cascade conveyor shown in Fig. 1, showing details of structure for driving the endless flight conveyor of each of the sections;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation view of the intermediate conveyor section shown in Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a partly elevational and partly sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows and showing details of structure for "affording a driving connection between the sections of the cascading conveyor.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 1 of the drawings, there is shown a plan view of a portion of a mine wherein the mining operations are conducted by the room and pillar method, and wherein coal or other mineral is fragmented from a solid seam or vein thereof without the need of explosives by means of a continuous mining machine. Such a mining operation is accomplished by driving an entry 10, within which may be disposed a In the room and pillar system of mining described cross entries 12 and 13 are driven from the main entry 10. These cross entries are intersected by rooms 14 and 16 driven by a continuous miner referred to generally by the reference numeral 17. Such rooms may be made at convenient distances apart along the cross entries. For example, there is shown in Fig. 1, the room 16 driven from the cross entry 12, and a future room 18 may be driven by the miner 17 upon completion of room 16.

The continuous miner 17 may be of the type which cuts multiple contiguous overlapping bores in the solid seam or vein, and may be of the type as shown in an application of Frank Cartlidge, Ser. No. 398,958, filed December 18, 1953, for Improvements in Continuous Miners, owned by the assignee of the present invention. Such a machine includes a discharge boom 19 having an endless chain flight conveyor 21 movable longitudinally thereof arranged to discharge the cuttings from the miner 17 onto an articulated cascading conveyor indicated gen erally by the reference numeral 25. The articulated conveyor 25 is shown as extending in the continuous miner 17 and along the cross entry 12, further to extend into the main entry 10.

The cascading conveyor 25 has an outby section 22, see also Figs. 2 and 3, arranged to discharge its conconveyor 25 is, of course, in accordance with the rate of movement of the miner are provided to give such conveyor 25.

The intermediate conveyor sections movement to the articulated 23 are accordingthe room 16 behind 17, and to this end means ly hingedly connected together, by structure as will be described in more detail as this specifications proceeds. By being so connected, the sections of the conveyor will describe a curve at the intersection of the cross entry 12 and the room 16, and at the intersection of the main entry and the cross entry 12. However, the hinged sections must be controlled in their change of direction in describing the aforementioned curve, and between such curves the hinged sections must travel along a tangent. Also, at the ends of the cascade conveyor 25, for example where inby 24 is moving with the continuous miner 17, it must also describe or move along a tangent. So too, the outby end traveling or moving with respect to the gathering conveyor 11 must also move along a tangent.

To this end the curve described by the conveyor 25 in changing in direction from the main entry 10 to the cross entry 12 may be considered as having a point of intersection of its tangents PIA. Likewise, the curve described by the conveyor 25 in changing in direction from cross entry 12 to the room 16 may be considered as having a point of intersection of its tangents PIB.

In order to control the direction of the conveyor sections 23, a flexible cable 27 is anchored at 28 to the continuous miner 17, and is trained around a sheave or shoe 29 having a center common to the point of intersection PIB. The sheave 29 may be part of a roof jacking assembly, not shown, and the details of the support for the sheave 29 form no part of the present invention and so will not be described in further detail.

As seen in Fig. 1, the flexible cable 27 is trained around a similar sheave 31 concentric with the point of intersection PIA, and has its end remote from the mechanical miner 17 wrapped about a winding drum 32 of a power driven winch 33. The flexible cable 27 is fastened as at 34 to one of the intermediate conveyor sections 23 to cause the contiguous sections at such point of connection 34 of the cable 37 to travel along the tangent described by the cable 27 between the points PIA and PIE. Likewise, the power unit 26 is connected as at 36 to the cable 27 between the point PIA and the power winch 33 to cause the power unit 26 to travel along the tangent between the said two points.

As seen in Fig. l, as the mechanical miner 17 advances into the room 16, the articulated conveyor 25 will also advance since it is connected at point 34 to the flexible cable 27. Continued advance of the miner 17 causes the conveyor unit 23 to the left of the point 34 of connection to the cable 27 to follow the tangent between the points PIA and P13.

Such continued advance of the miner 17 will cause the conveyor units nearest to the point P113 to describe what may be considered a relatively smooth curve, so that the conveyor units do not strike the rib of mineral of the inside of such curve. Similarly, the conveyor units nearest to the point PIA also describe a curve, and in so doing are arranged to miss the rib of coal or mineral at the inside of such curve."

When the miner has advanced a distance as previously determined or as limited by the length of the articulated conveyor 25, the miner 17 is retracted from the room 16 and moved into the entry 12 preparatory to sltgrting an adjoining room as by way of example, room Preparatory to such cutting of such a new room 18 the articulated conveyor 25 must be moved by the cable 27 whilst being wound upon the winding drum 32 of the power Winch 33. In so doing, the point 34 moves toward the sheave 31, and in order for the individual conveyor units 23 to follow the curve shown, and to move along the tangent of the cable 27 between point PIA and the winch 33, the attaching point 34 must be shifted to successive conveyor units 23. Such shifts in the point of connection 34 will be on to the conveyor units 23 toward the inby end of the conveyor 25.

The power unit 26, which is connected to the cable 27 at the connection point 36, thus moves with the tangent portion of the cable 27 between the sheave 31 and the power winch 33, the discharge or outby end 22 of the conveyor 25 moving with the power unit 26 and successive sections 23 along the gathering conveyor 11.

In order to provide such retractile movement of the articulated conveyor 25 from a point remote from the winch 33 suitable control means, not shown, may be provided at the mechanical miner 17. Thus, upon retreating movement of the miner 17, the operator may at the same time operate winch 33 to cause the conveyor 25 to retreat at the same time.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, the power unit 26 for the outby unit 22 and the several inby sections 23 will now be described. As seen in Fig. 3, the gathering conveyor 11 is of the endless belt type and is of a conventional construction, and need not be described in further detail. However, such a conveyor may be of the endless chain flight type or can be of the shaker type. The precise form of such gathering conveyor forms no part of the present invention and the use of any one of the kinds of conveyors referred to is contemplated within the scope of this invention and all such forms are intended to be reserved.

Irrespective of the form of such gathering conveyor 11 it is flanked by the power unit 26 which consists of a frame work 41 arranged to move upon wheels 42, said wheels being secured to the frame in any convenient fashion. The frame 41 supports a driving motor 43 connected through a flexible coupling 44 to a speed reducer 46 having an output shaft 47. Said output shaft is connected through a universal joint 48 to a splined drive shaft 49 having a similar universal joint 51 at the other end thereof.

The outby or discharge conveyor section 22 as seen in Figs. 2, 3 and 5 consists of a trough 53 having spaced side walls 52 and 54. The spaced side walls 52 and 54 are maintained in spaced relationship by an upper floor plate 56 for the upper or conveying reach 58 of a double 1 chain flight conveyor and a lower plate 57 for the lower or return reach 59 of such flight conveyor. As seen more particularly in Fig. 3, the outside of the wall 52 is provided with a housing 61 for a gear train, not shown, receiving power from a stub shaft 62 connected to the universal joint 51 and transmitting power to a driving sprocket 63 fast upon a shaft 64 driven from the stub shaft 62. As seen in Fig. 3 the shaft 64 is journalled in the side wall 53 in a bearing 66.

Referring also to Fig. 6, the two flights 58 and 59 are reversed in direction at the inby end of the discharge section 22 about a shaft 67 having sprockets 69 and 71 disposed adjacent the spaced side walls 52 and 54, the said sprockets 69 and 71 being made fast to the shaft 67 by means of keys 72 and 73 respectively. As seen in Fig. 6 particularly the ends of the shaft 67 are arranged to be supported within bearings 74 and 76.

The outby conveyor section 22 is arranged to be supported at the inby end thereof upon caster wheels 77 each held in a fork 78 arranged to swivel in a vertical plane with respect to a support plate 81 extending between the spaced walls 52 and 54 at the lower or inby end thereof.

The outby end of the outby conveyor section 22 is supported for movement upon the power unit 26. As seen in Figs. 2 and 3 the power unit 26 is provided with a support 82 for an arm 83 which is connected by a pin 84 to the support 82. The arm 83 supports the discharge section 22 and terminates in a ball fitting 86 nesting within a socket 87 welded or otherwise secured to the lower plate 57. The opposite end of the arm 83 is held by a pin 88 to a threaded eye bolt 89 passing through abutment 91 extending from the frame 41 and held in position by means of nuts 92, threaded to the eyebolt 89. By adjusting the nuts 92 the angular position of the arm 83 may be changed as desired.

It will be seen that the outby section 22 can thus be supported upon its wheels 77 at its lower or inby end, and can be supported by the power unit 26 in position overlying the gathering conveyor 11 for discharge thereon.

Each of the sections of the cascade conveyor 25 is arranged to transmit power from the inby end thereof to the outby end of the next inby conveyor section. The inby end of the outby conveyor section 22 is the first of such means to transfer the power to the next inb) section 23 so as to drive the double chain flight conveyor thereof.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 4, and 6 of the drawings, each of the conveyor sections 23 includes spaced side walls 101 and 102. These spaced side walls are welded to an upper floor plate 103 and a lower floor plate 104 forming respectively the path for movement of an upper conveying reach 106 and a lower or non-conveying return reach 107 of an endless flight conveyor. Each of saidconveyor units has extending from the bottom plate 104 thereof spaced vertical plates 108 which together with shrouds 109 form a support for ground engaging wheels 111 turning upon stub axles 112 held at each end in the vertical plate 108 and the shrouds 109.

The opposite or inby end of each of the sections 23 is supported like the inby end of the discharge section 22 upon similar caster wheels 77 arranged to swivel about a substantially vertical axis in a fork 78 pivoted to the sup port plate 81.

The several conveyor sections 23 are arranged to pivot in a horizontal plane with respect to the adjoining outby section so that the entire cascade conveyor 25 may follow the curve previously described. To this end the bottom plate 57 of the outby section 22 and the bottom plate 104 of each of the inby sections 23 is faired upward as at 113 to extend between the flared sides 52 and 54 or 101 and 102 at the inby ends'of the respective conveyor sections 22 and 23.

The so faired upward plate 113 has welded thereto spaced pillow blocks 114 on the inner side thereof. Said pillow blocks support a pin 116, see also Fig. 4, to which is hingedly supported a coupler member 117 generally of a Y-configuration with arms 118 at the end thereof engaging the pin 116 and abutting the pillow blocks 114.

The Y-shaped member 117 has a central tongue 119, see i also Fig. 6, which extends between a clevis 121 welded to the underside of the plate 104 at the outby end of the conveyor section 23. Said clevis supports a pin 122 and a ball joint 123 also supported in the tongue 119 of the coupler 117.

Since the coupler 117 is freely swivelable in a vertical plane with both respect to the adjacent inby and outby sections, and is swivelable in a horizontal plane with respect to the outby section, it will be apparent that the two contiguous sections 23 are thus universally connected.

Means are provided for transmitting power for driving the endless flight conveyor from the outby section'23 to its next adjacent inby section for all positions of such inby section with respect to the outby section. The inby end of each section 23, as is also the inby end of the outby discharge section 22, is arranged to transfer or transmit power for the purpose stated by means as will now be described. Reference will be had to the means at the discharge section 22 for transmitting the power to the next adjacent inby section 23, and it is believed that it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that each of the sections 23 is likewise so constructed for such transfer of power for the purpose described.

To this end the discharge section 22 (and each of the sections 23) is provided with a pinion 126 mounted at the end of the shaft 67 supporting the sprocket 71 at the inby end of the conveyor section 23. Said pinion 126 is held within a housing 127 disposed on the outerfsideof the side wall 54. Said housing 127 has a closure 128 which provides a support together with the housing 127 for a pinion 129 meshing with the pinion 126. Said pinion 129 is made fast to a shaft 131 supported on a bearing 132 in the housing 127 and on a bearing 133:

held in the closure 128. The shaft 131 is connected to a shaft 134 through a universal joint 136. The shaft 134 is made extensible and contractible by means of a spline 135 and is connected also to a universal joint 137 mounted on a shaft 138.

As seen in Fig. 6, the flight conveyor of each conveyor section is driven at the outby end thereof by spaced sprockets 139 and 141 fast to a shaft 142 held on bearings 143 and 144 mounted respectively in the walls 101 and 102 of each conveyor section. The shaft 142 and its sprockets 139 and 141 are driven through the medium of a pair of mating gears 146 and 147, gear 147 being made fast to an extension 148 of the shaft 142. The gears 146 and 147 turn within a housing 151 secured to the outer side of the wall 101, said housing having a closure 152. The shaft 138 is supported on a bearing 153 in the housing 151 and upon a similar bearing 154 in the closure 152.

It is believed apparent to those skilled in the art that each section can thus transmit power to drive the flight conveyor of the next inby section through the means just described. Depending upon the amount of articulation of the two adjacent sections with respect to each other the splined shaft 134 lengthens or contracts accordingly.

The cascade conveyor, which is freely swivelable in both vertical and horizontal directions, is able to describe the curves when the rooms being driven by the miner 17 are not on the same center line as the center line of the entry in which the conveyor 11 is operating. It is believed apparent that the apparatus described herein enables a large number of rooms to be mined without the need of a large number of changes in set up of the mother conveyor as has been necessary heretofore.

While the invention has been described in terms of an embodiment which it may assume in practice, the scope thereof is not intended to be limited by the precise embodiment herein shown, such other embodiments being intended to be reserved especially as they fall within the terms of the claims here appended.

I claim as my invention:

1. Apparatus for mining coal or the like comprising a continuous mining machine, a relatively fixed gathering conveyor therefor, a conveyor disposed between said mining machine and said gathering conveyor, said second named conveyor being composed of individual conveyor sections arranged to discharge from an inby section to an outby section thereof and being articulated with respect to each other, means disposed adjacent said gathering conveyor for supporting the outby unit of said second named conveyor, said means being arranged to drive the endless conveyor means thereof, means disposed on each conveyor section for driving the endless conveyor means of an adjacent conveyor section, a flexible strand extending from said mining machine to said gathering conveyor, said flexible strand extending in directions so as to describe at least a pair of intersecting tangent portions, one of the tangent portions of said flexible strand being connected at a point adjacent said gathering conveyor and another one of the tangent portions of said flexible strand being connected at said continuous mining machine, means for paying out additional lengths of said flexible strand as said mining machine advances, means for connecting at least one of the intermediate sections of said second named conveyor to said flexible strand at a point near the point of intersection of said tangent portions so that said conveyor sections describe a curve with respect to said intersecting tangent portions as said mining machine advances, and means for taking up said flexible strand so as to move said second named conveyor therewith upon retractile movement of said mining machine.

2. Apparatus for'mining coal or the like comprising 1 a continuous mining machine, a relatively fixed gathering conveyor therefor, a conveyor disposed between said mining machine and said gathering conveyor, said second named conveyor being composed of individual conveyor sections each having endless conveyor means thereon arranged to discharge from an inby section to an outby section thereof and being articulated with respect to each other, means disposed adjacent said gathering conveyor for supporting the outby unit of said second named conveyor, said means being arranged to drive the endless conveyor means thereof, means disposed on each conveyor section for driving the endless conveyor means of an adjacent conveyor section, a flexible strand extending from said mining machine to said gathering conveyor, said flexible strand extending with at least a pair of intersecting tangent portions, one of said tangent portions being connected at a point adjacent said gathering conveyor and another one of said tangents being connected at said continuous mining machine, means for paying out additional lengths of said flexible strand as said mining machine advances, and means for connecting at least one of the intermediate sections of said second named conveyor to said flexible strand at a point near the point of intersection of said tangent portions so that said conveyor sections describe a curve with respect to said intersecting tangent portions.

3. Apparatus for mining coal or the like comprising a continuous mining machine, a relatively fixed gathering conveyor therefor, a conveyor disposed between said mining machine and said gathering conveyor, said second named conveyor being composed of individual conveyor sections each having endless conveyor means thereon arranged to discharge from an inby section to an outby section thereof and being articulated with respect to each other, means disposed adjacent said gathering conveyor for supplying power to the outby unit of said second named conveyor, means disposed on each conveyor section for driving the endless conveyor means of an adjacent conveyor means of an adjacent conveyor section, a flexible strand extending from said mining machine to said gathering conveyor, said flexible strand extending in directions so as to describe at least a pair of intersecting tangent portions, one of said tangent portions being connected at a point adjacent said gathering conveyor and another one of said tangent portions being connected at said continuous mining machine, means for paying out additional lengths of said flexible strand as said mining machine advances, and means for connecting at least one of the intermediate sections of said second named conveyor to said flexible strand at a point near the point of intersection of said tangent portions so that said conveyor sections describe a curve with respect to said intersecting tangent portions as said mining machine advances.

4. Apparatus for mining coal or the like comprising a continuous mining machine, a relatively fixed gathering conveyor therefor, a conveyor disposed between said mining machine and said gathering conveyor, said second named conveyor being composed of individual conveyor sections arranged to discharge from inby sections thereof to the adjacent outby section thereof and being articulated with respect to each other, a flexible strand extending from said mining machine to said gathering conveyor, said flexible strand extending in directions so as to describe at least a pair of intersecting tangent portions, one of said tangent portions being connected at a point adjacent said gathering conveyor and another one of said tangent portions being connected at said continuous mining machines, means for paying out additional lengths of said flexible strand as said mining machine advances, means for connecting at least one of the intermediate sections of said conveyor sections to said flexible strand at a point near the point of intersection of said tangent portions so that said conveyor sections describe a curve with respect to said intersecting tangent portions as said mining machine advances, and means for taking up said flexible strand so as to move said second conveyor therewith upon retractile movement of said mining machine.

5. Apparatus for mining coal or the like comprising a continuous mining machine, a relatively fixed gathering conveyor therefor, a conveyor disposed between said mining machine and said gathering conveyor, said second named conveyor being composed of individual conveyor sections arranged to discharge from an inby section to an outby section thereof and being articulated with respect to each other, a flexible strand extending from said mining machine to said gathering conveyor, said flexible strand extending in directions so as to describe at least a pair of intersecting tangent portions, one of said tangent portions being connected at a point adjacent said gathering conveyor and another one of said tangent portions being connected at said continuous mining machine, means for paying out additional lengths of said flexible strand as said mining machine advances, and means for connecting at least one of the intermediate sections of said second named conveyor to said flexible strand at a point near the point of intersection of said tangent portions so that said conveyor sections describe a curve with respect to said intersecting tangent portions as said mining machine advances.

6. Means for transporting coal or other mineral from a continuous mining machine to a relatively fixed gathering conveyor where said machine and said conveyor are disposed in other than straight line relationship comprising an articulated conveyor composed of conveyor sections, said articulated conveyor connecting said mining machine and said gathering conveyor, a flexible strand extending from said mining machine to said gathering conveyor and describing at least two intersecting tangent portions, one of which is connected adjacent said gathering conveyor and another of which is connected to said mining machine, means for paying out additional lengths of said flexible strand so that the said tangent portions are described irrespective of the advance of said mining machine, means for connecting the outby end of said articulated conveyor to one of said tangent portions, and means for connecting an intermediate section of said conveyor to another of said tangent portions so that the articulated conveyor describes a curve in moving past the point of intersection of said tangent portions as said flexible strand moves in accordance with the advance of said miner.

7. Means for transporting coal or other mineral from a continuous mining machine to a relatively fixed gathering conveyor where said machine and said conveyor are disposed in other than straight line relationship comprising an articulated conveyor composed of conveyor sections, said articulated conveyor connecting said mining machine and said gathering conveyor, a flexible strand extending from said mining machine to said gathering conveyor and describing at least two intersecting tangent portions, one of which is connected adjacent said gathering conveyor and another of which is connected to said mining machine, means for paying out additional lengths of said flexible strand so that the said tangent portions are described irrespective of the advance of said mining ma chine, means for connecting the outby end of said articulated conveyor to one of said tangent portions, and means for connecting an intermediate section of said conveyor to another of said tangent portions so that the articulated conveyor describes a curve in moving past the point of intersection of said tangent portions as said flexible strand moves in accordance with the advance of said miner, means for taking up said flexible strand so as to move said articulated conveyor therewith upon retractile movement of said mining machine.

References Cited in the file of this patent Cartlidge Apr. 6, 1954 

